The model name Century came about when Buick was designing its first production automobile capable of reaching a speed of 100 mph. The division needed to come up with a name. One of the Buick executives had returned from a recent trip to the British isles and told the other executives that the British referred to going 100 mph as "doing the century". The executives liked the Century name and it stuck.[citation needed]

1936–1942

Buick renamed its entire model lineup for the 1936 model year to celebrate the engineering improvements and design advancements over their 1935 models. Buick's Series 40 model range became the Special, the Series 80 became the Roadmaster and the Series 90—Buick's largest and most luxurious vehicles, became the Limited. The Century took the place of the Series 60.

The basic formula for the 1936 to 1942 Century was established by mating shorter wheelbase Buick Special bodies to Buick's most powerful eight-cylinder engine. While the Special was powered by Buick's 233 in³ was rated 93 hp (69 kW) at 3200 rpm, Centuries produced between 1936 to 1942 were powered by Buick's 320 cu in inline-8 at 165 hp, making them the fastest Buicks of the era and capable of sustained speeds of 95 mph plus, earning the Century the nickname "the banker's hot rod."

The Century was discontinued at the end of the abbreviated 1942 model year, during which total model production only accounted for about ten percent of Buick's total output.

1954–1958

In 1954, Buick reintroduced the Century using the same formula of mating the smaller, lighter Buick Special body to its largest and most powerful 322 cubic inch V8 engine with the intent of giving Buick a performance vehicle. Included in the model lineup during this period was a station wagon model, a body style that had been unavailable during the Century's first production period of 1936 to 1942.

In 1955, the California Highway Patrol placed a large fleet order for Century 2-door sedans, a body style unavailable to the general public. It combined the Special 2-door sedan body shell with Century powertrain and trim. Broderick Crawford was shown driving a 2-door Century sedan during the first season of his popular syndicated TV series "Highway Patrol". (In later seasons he'd drive a four-door Century, like his real life counterparts in the California Highway Patrol.)

The Century remained Buick's performance line, with engine power rising from 200 (SAE gross) in 1954, to 236 in 1955, to 255 in 1956, and topping out at 300 from a bored-out 364 cubic inch engine in 1957-58, the last model years for the full sized Century line.

Because the Century was considered the senior "small Buick", the model received GM's only hardtop station wagon, the Century Caballero, from 1957 through 1958. The Caballero's expensive tooling, plus its limited sales appeal, caused GM to abandon the hardtop station wagon body style going into its planned 1959 divisional-wide new design program.

With the vanishing of the Skylark coupe after 1972, the Century inherited the potent Gran Sport performance option. While the Stage I 455 in³ (7.5 L) V8 was somewhat diminished from its performance heyday due to emission controls, the Century GS coupes of 1973 to 1975 remained strong performers by the standards of the time. At the other end of the power spectrum, to meet fuel economy regulations, some later models of this generation were equipped with 231 in³ (3.8 L) V6s.

In 1973 and 1974, the Luxus high-end trim level was offered for the Century, but for 1975 that line was renamed the Century Custom. Also beginning in 1975, the new 110 hp (82 kW) 231 V6 was installed as standard equipment, and the optional big-block 455 was now exclusive to the station wagon. After the 455's demise, the Oldsmobile 403 was available on 1977 Century wagons. GM intermediates got a facelift for 1976, giving the Century quad rectangular headlamps and a taller, flatter grille.

Between 1975 and 1977, a Buick Special coupe was marketed as part of the Century model lineup as an entry level vehicle. Called the "Century Special" in Buick literature, the coupe was based on the 2-door fastback body style but had a special landau roof that covered most of the quarter glass, giving it the appearance of the higher-lever formal roof cars. 1976 and 1977 models had a unique body-color header panel.

In 1978, a downsized, redesigned Century appeared in the form of a fastback coupe ("aeroback") and sedan (the body was shared with the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon), as well as a more traditionally styled station wagon. The car was over a foot shorter, several inches narrower, and several hundred pounds lighter than its predecessor. V6 engines were still standard due to fuel economy regulations. The base engine was Buick's new 196, introduced specifically for the Century and Regal. The 231 and the Chevrolet 305 were options. The Pontiac 265 and 301 replaced the Chevrolet engine for 1979.

One of the more rare models of this time was the 1979 to 1980 Century Turbo Coupe, powered by a turbocharged version of the 3.8 L V6, which offered V8-like performance with more reasonable fuel consumption. The Turbo Coupe was not nearly as popular as the similar Regal Turbo Sport Coupe of the time, and total production is estimated to be less than 2,500.

The fastback sedan also did not sell well (in common with the similar Cutlass Salon sedan) and it was revamped as a more conventional notchback in 1980. The "Limited" coupe was also dropped this year. For 1981, the fastback coupe was dropped. With the introduction of the new front wheel drive Century in 1982 (see below), the existing notchback sedan and wagon models were transferred to the Regal line.

In 1981, another downsized Century arrived, this time on the front wheel driveA platform, in coupe and sedan form. In 1984, a station wagon was added to the lineup to replace the departed Regal wagon. 1984 also saw an Olympic version of the Buick Century, commemorating the 1984 games in Los Angeles, California. In 1986, all versions were "freshened" with a new, more angular front fascia. Wheelbase was 104.9 in (2664 mm), with 189 in (4800mm) overall length. Both four-cylinder and diesel V6 engines were offered in this generation, although neither became popular. Performance versions of several Buick models, including the Century coupe, were offered in the mid 1980s under the T-Type name. With Buick's 181 in³ (3.0 L) V6 producing 110 hp (82 kW), the Century T-Type's performance was modest, but the 3.8 SFI engine, producing 140-150 hp (105-112 kW), offered spirited performance in this relatively lightweight vehicle.

From 1985 to 1986, 124 Buick Century Coupes were made into convertibles by Hess & Eisenhardt / Car Craft in Lima, Ohio and sold new at Buick dealerships. These are considered a coach convertible, not factory authorized convertibles.

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1989 refresh

1989-1990 Buick Century sedan

1991-93 Buick Century sedan

The Century received a facelift for 1989, gaining a new more-rounded roofline, but continuing on the A-body platform. Black plastic inserts with the Buick trishield emblem replaced the rear quarter windows. The front end received flush headlamps and a rounded grille, and the stand-up hood ornament was now standard. All sedan models were easily distinguished by their distinctive full-width taillights, a somewhat extravagant flourish on a smaller sedan, but one that carried on a Buick tradition of big taillights. An exterior refresh came in 1991. The 2.5 L I4 was replaced with a new 115 hp 2.2 L for 1993. For 1994, the coupe model was dropped, and all models received a standard driver's side airbag, which was also made standard for its Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera/Cruiser twin. Also in 1994, the 160 hp 3.3 L Buick V6 was replaced with a 3.1 L V6 with the same power rating, and power on the 2.2 L I4 was up to 120 hp (89 kW) with the introduction of MFI. Midway through the 1994 model year, a round speedometer replaced the wide rectangular one, but the car still carried on with the original 1981-style dash.

In 1997, the Century was redesigned for the last time, the four-door sedan was the only body style offered, and still a front wheel drive V6-powered configuration. The car was moved to the W-body platform, rejoining its former Regal sibling. In this generation, the Century and Regal were nearly the same car, distinguished only by trim and engine differences. Since the Century was lower-priced than the Regal, it was also the lower-powered and plainer of the two, offering only a 3.1 L V6. Nevertheless, the design was well-proportioned and the car retained its reputation for quality. After the 1998 discontinuation of the Skylark, the Century for the first time became Buick's entry-level car. Buick tried to position the Century as a lower-priced alternative to Japanese family sedans like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. For 2003, the "Century" nameplate on the front doors was dropped.

The all-new Buick LaCrosse replaced both the Century and Regal in 2005. A limited run of Centuries with special trim were produced for 2005 to mark the end of the name. The last Buick Century rolled off the assembly line on October 25, 2004.

Engines

China

From April 1999, Shanghai GM produced a version of the Century for the Chinese market. These models had slightly different names: the entry-level model was the Buick New Century, with more upscale models carrying the GL and GLX names. Later, G and GS models were added. Since the Century was sold in Asia, it should not be confused with the Japanese-market Toyota Century.

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